The Top 10 funniest TV ads of all time

LONDON - In many ways, defining what is funny is like trying to nail jelly to a wall. So, hammer in hand, Campaign asked a cross-section of ad industry luminaries to suggest the most side-splitting TV ads of all time.

Perhaps surprisingly, a few names cropped up a number of times, and, from these, we produced a shortlist of nominations.

Some of the ads on the list, such as the John Smith's spots featuring Peter Kaye, were part of a campaign consisting of a number of executions.

In some cases, there was little to choose between the individual ads in each group. In these instances, we picked what we judged to be the funniest and most representative of each group.

Visitors to the Campaign website have been voting on this list for the past two months, and today we can reveal our top ten funniest TV ads of all time.

As you can see from the list, UK TV ads dominate, with classic US spots managing a couple of places.

There is a fair spread of dates, and the fact that four are from the 80s perhaps shows that the creative from that golden age of advertising is standing the test of time.

Or maybe it's because a large number of voters were children during that decade.

Website users were also invited to submit their own suggestions for the ads they thought were the most funny.

Sadly, none of these gained enough nominations to make it to our shortlist, but a few of them are worthy of honourable mentions.

2. Blackcurrant Tango 'St George'

This delightfully over-the-top spot for Blackcurrant Tango starts in corporate video-style, with Tango's "spokesman" Ray Gardner reading out a letter from a disgruntled French exchange student named Sebastien.

Fired up, Gardner leaves the office, followed by a retinue of Tango employees.

As he walks, he strips off to reveal a pair of purple boxing shorts, and ends up in a boxing ring at the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover, with Harrier jets hovering overhead.

To a cheering crowd, Gardner maniacally offers to take on France, Europe and the rest of the world.

The ad appears to be shot in one take, although it was actually done in three.

It picked up a number of awards in 1997, notably a Cannes gold Lion and a silver Pencil from D&AD.

7. Orange 'snoop gold spot'

We could have picked any number of ads from Orange's series of Gold Spots, which run before films in UK cinemas. However, Snoop Dogg's appearance, earlier this year, managed to make the regular film executives look more out of touch than they ever had before.

Mr Dresden and his assistant Elliot interrupt the rap star in his recording studio and ask him to consider changing the theme of his lyrics to focus less on sex and more on phone calls.

After a brief stand-off with Snoop Dogg's posse, Dresden decides the only option is to record the vocal himself.

Cue toe-curling rapping from the ultimate suit. The ad is one of the last Gold Spots to be produced by Mother - Orange transferred the account to Fallon in August.